Ace in the Hole
by Wyntir Rose
Summary: G1: Pre-War - Swindle bails Smokescreen out jail after a job goes awry. Part of Twenty-Eight Smokescreens.


**Ace in the Hole**

_**Disclaimer:**__ Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. My original characters are my own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. I claim no ownership by writing this work._

**Author's Notes:** This was written in response to Greedy Smokescreen in the a 28 Smokescreen Meme. Enjoy. Comments and critique are always welcome!

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It was a simple job. An easy job. It was just a straight in and out. It didn't even require his special brand of persuasion. And yet, it had succeeded in blowing up in his face. And why? Because he had gotten greedy. It hadn't been enough to walk out with the Borellian Crystal. No, he had to go back for the Crown of Phreezia too. And of course, the extra time that he'd taken had been just long enough for the authorities to arrive.

So now Smokescreen sat back on the berth of his far-too-small cell and contemplated the opposite wall while mentally berating himself for being so stupid as to get caught over something as amateurish as greed. He knew better than to go back. He knew better than to get distracted by a shiny. … But, oh, it was _so_ shiny and just so _unbelievably_ worth the risk. Or it would have been if he hadn't gotten himself caught and if the crown wasn't now safely back in the Governor's collection.

He offlined his optics as he groaned softly to himself and rapped the back of his head against the wall in frustration.

"Tut, tut. Can't have you denting that pretty little head of yours, now can we?" a sarcastic voice drawled.

Smokescreen looked over at the door and felt a large smile spread across his face.

"Swindle! About fragging time you got here!" he said, his tone light. "Though I have to say I'm surprised you're not long gone already."

"What? And leave that aft for just anyone?" Swindle replied with an obvious and appreciative leer. "We both know the unsavoury types that hang around Vanellite jails."

"Aw! So you came to keep me company and defend my honour! How sweet!"

"Yeah, don't read too much into it," Swindle replied. "I came to get one of my assets out of jail. Just because I don't share doesn't mean that I'm protecting anything."

Smokescreen merely smirked. He stood and stretched slightly as the guard stepped up to unlock the door.

"Are you sure that this is the one you want, sir?" the guard asked tentatively. "It's just, if you don't mind me saying so, sir – it's just that this one hardly seems like the type of person that _you_ would associate with."

Smokescreen cocked his chevron slightly at Swindle and swallowed a smirk as he realized the con his friend was pulling. It was one of Smokescreen's personal favourites. It was a simple confidence scam that only relied on the Mark's false impression of you as a mech of wealth and position – who happened to not have any credits on him at the moment.

The Mark, more than happy to help a noble in need, was convinced to part with something the Artist wanted and in return would receive something beautiful – and obviously expensive – as collateral. The Artist would then hand over something of no value whatsoever, walk off with the prize and the Mark would be none the wiser.

The prize, in this case was Smokey's bail, and the guard happily accepted a very large piece of blue glass as collateral. Swindle pulled the whole thing off almost as well as Smokescreen could have, and the smuggler couldn't help but feel pride at his student's accomplishment. True he'd never say anything about it to Swindle, considering that technically it was Smokescreen who was the employee and not the other way around. Still, the arms dealer was catching on fast and that was definitely something to be quietly celebrated.

The walked out of the jail, Smokescreen trailing Swindle at an appropriately humble distance and soon the pair were walking through the city's main square toward the landing pads, free and clear. They travelled in silence for a long time until Smokescreen slowed and finally stopped, looking back at the Governor's mansion.

"What?" Swindle asked, an irritated tone creeping into his voice as he figured out exactly what it was that had caught Smokescreen's attention.

"Well, they didn't say when we needed to get off world. And the crown is still sitting in Governor's collection …"

"No," Swindle said firmly as he grabbed Smokescreen by a doorwing, causing him to yelp in surprise. "You've done enough damage already."

"Yeah, but-"

"No. No buts. No excuses. And no going back," Swindle replied sharply. "Besides, I have a much bigger score in mind for you, Ace. But we need to get off world now if we're going to get there in time."

"Bigger score?" Smokescreen asked, curiosity lighting up his optics. "Care to elaborate, Swin?"

"Nope. Not here at any rate." Swindle sped up his pace. "Once we're back on your ship I'll tell you all the details. But," he added in a conspiratorial whisper, "I will tell you it involves Vaults of Femax."

With that, Swindle transformed and sped off toward the landing pad, leaving Smokescreen to follow and chuckle softly in anticipation of the next big score.


End file.
